Hello, Two Worlds

The story shifts from east to west and back

Hope amidst Colours

Blogging has been quite an experience for me. Inspired by some of my closest friends, I initiated my own blog. It took me over four months to attract readers. But when the number of visitors on my blog crossed the figure of 10,000, I decided I needed to do something.

Pakistan, in its present condition, needs special care. We cannot afford to sit back and relax at a time when most Pakistanis themselves are not sure about the future of their country. So, I decided to play my part as a Pakistani by trying to influence and change some people’s perception about my country.

I decided to hold a contest in which all the readers of my blog were invited to participate. They were asked to come up with a solution to our problems, and express it in the form of pictures. And the results dazzled me! Here, I’ll be sharing the best entries:

Umer Imad ud Din
Umer Imam ud Din, 20, from Lahore says that Pakistan is a great country but we’re led astray by our leaders. He used Photo Manipulation to put his views across. According to him, we can make progress and face all the difficulties if we stand together.

Anas Shafqat
Anas Shafqat, 17, from Hyderabad strongly believes: No country is perfect. It has to be made perfect. The Pakistanis who label Pakistan as a lousy nation and proclaim that it has no future should understand that if today Pakistan is in this pitiable state, it is because the people are too slothful to do anything for its good. Instead of correcting ourselves, weblame the politicians and instead of trying to find a solution to the problems we’re facing, we complain and whine. We must remember that a nation is made by its people. If there is corruption in Pakistan, it is because of the people who are corrupt. If there is lawlessness in Pakistan, it’s because people take a particular pleasure in breaking laws. If there is poverty in Pakistan, it’s because we have allowed wealth to concentrate in the hands of few. Pakistan is a wonderful nation, blessed with innumerable resources, but it has been ruined by its own people. Now it’s our responsibility to lead it back to the course of success and prosperity, because sitting back and enjoying the destruction of our homeland is definitely not going to do the trick.

The message Anas wishes to deliver through his drawing is that terrorism and extremism seek to divide us. They are indeed a blot on our country’s name and to get rid of these vices we must all unite and SAY NO TO TERRORISM AND EXTREMISM!

Hasan Raza
Hassan Raza, 20, from UET Taxila, says, “We’re not short of resources. We only need zealous, committed, devoted people. ‘Azm’ is what we need to improve our country’s situation and make it a peaceful and prosperous country.”

Sanchit Jain
Sanchit Jain, 18, from New Delhi says that he used to have a different opinion about Pakistan than today. A stranger at Orkut transformed him into a better human. Consequently, his hatred for Pakistan vanished and he developed a great liking for the country. Sanchit visited Pakistan at a young age and he wishes to visit it once more. He believes that Pakistan and India are not much different. Both the countries are facing almost similar problems. And those problems can be solved by maintaining a positive perspective. His entry is an inspiration from a poster. According to Sanchit, our condition depends on our perspective. The better the perspective, the better the condition.

I am a passionate women's rights activist and an aspiring social entrepreneur from Pakistan. My work in development and media communications, with focus on youth and gender equality, has been recognized by global awards, including a first place award from the United Nations.